Shelving/display system

ABSTRACT

A merchandising system comprises an anchor rail that is attached in a substantially horizontal position to a supporting surface, such as a wall. The anchor rail releasably supports a hanger that extends vertically to a position remote from the anchor rail. The hanger can be located at substantially any position horizontally along the anchor rail. The hanger is supported by the upright surface at a position remote from the anchor rail but is free of permanent attachment to the upright surface at this position so that it can be freely moved horizontally. The hanger includes an upright portion that extends substantially vertically and also includes a support arm that extends outwardly from the upright portion to support a shelf or other object thereon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shelving/display system, and moreparticularly but not exclusively to a system suited for use as a shopfitting item for display purposes. It can however also be used inoffices, public or domestic buildings and d-i-y applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the problems with display/shelving systems particularly thoseused in shops is that they are often based on arrangements where fixeduprights are screwed to the walls at pre-determined intervals. Forinstance, the uprights could be spaced apart on one meter centres. Theproblem with such fixed upright systems is that they are configured insuch a way that they limit the lateral flexibility of the system andtheir installation can require structural or substantial building workwhich a shop owner may not want.

The aim of the invention is to provide a versatile shelving/displaysystem which is not limited by its configuration to having its uprightsor main supports in any pre-determined vertical positions.

It is an object of the invention to provide a shelving/display systemwhich is cheap and easy to manufacture and simple to install.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a shelving/display systemcomprising an anchor rail for attachment substantially horizontally toan upright surface such as a wall or partition, the rail beingconfigured to receive releasable engagement means provided on a hangerwhereby the hanger can be attached to the rail at any location along itslength, the hanger comprising an upright portion which extendssubstantially vertically with respect to the rail when assembledtherewith and a support arm extending outwardly therefrom.

Preferably the rail is formed as a metal extrusion and is ofindeterminate length. It could however be made of wood or some othermaterial. In use, the rail is attached to the vertical surface (eg awall or partition) in a substantially horizontal disposition thereto atany convenient location. By way of example, a first rail might beattached to the wall or partition at a location say 2 meters above thefloor and a second intermediate rail could be attached between the firstrail and the floor say 1 meter above the floor.

The system can be used in any configuration depending on the purposesrequired of it. For instance, if it is to be used to display merchandisesuch as garments, a combination of hangers and shelves could be used,the garments being hung from the arm extending from each hanger and theshelves being formed by placing a board on the arms extending from apair of hangers suspended on the horizontal rail.

Preferably the releasable engagement means on the hanger are at one endof the upright portion thereof but they can be located intermediate theends if required.

In a preferred embodiment, the arm extends outwardly from the uprighthanger portion intermediate its ends and substantially normal to therail. It can however be provided at the bottom end of the uprightportion if required. Conveniently, the arm and upright portion of thehanger include cooperating means whereby the position of the arm alongthe upright may be changed. Preferably the cooperating means areoperable to fix the arm in position relative to the hanger upright. Thecooperating means can however comprise friction means or alternativelycooperating slots on the hanger upright which engage with a peg on thearm.

The rail is preferably a metal extrusion of any desired length and inthe preferred embodiment includes a lip extending along its length whichcooperates with the engaging means on the hanger to retain the hanger inthe rail. Preferably, the rail is long enough so that several hangersand/or accessories can be suspended from it spaced along its length. Forexample, if the system is to be used for shop fitting purposes, theaccessories could be any of the following: garment rail, shelf arm,lighting attachment, coat hook, display torso, mannequin, display boardetc. If however, the system is to be used in a domestic application,then the accessories might be lighting attachments, a clock, a mirror, anotice bard, a plant holder, a peg or slot bard, a slat wall formessages/notes, a letter rack, an audio visual support-shelf. By usingside cheeks or end panels, cupboards can be formed.

In the preferred embodiment, the lip projects upwardly from the railalong its front edge to leave a channel between the lip and the rear ofthe rail. Preferably the engaging means includes a hook portion whichfits over the upstanding lip. In the preferred embodiment, the lipextends along the upper part of the rail, the lower part being formed todefine a channel shaped to receive an insert therein such as adecorative anel, or alternatively it could include pricing or sizeinformation, etc.

In another embodiment, the rail includes a lip which extends downwardlytherefrom, the engaging means on the hanger including an upstanding partwhich engages behind said lip to retain the hanger in the rail.Alternatively, the rail can be channel shaped in cross section andinclude a pair of facing lips defining a slot therebetween, the engagingmeans on the hanger including a head which can be fitted into said slotto engage the rear face of each lip and retain the hanger in the rail.Depending on the design of the rail, the engaging means can be hookedinto the rail by upwardly pivoting the engaging means to fit into theslot and then lowering the engaging means once it is in the rail to takeup its position in which the hanger is retained in the rail.Alternatively, the hanger can be inserted in the slot in the rail in ahorizontal position and then pivoted through 90° into a verticalposition to lock it in position. In another embodiment, the engagingmeans on the hanger include a spring loaded detent which corporates withthe lip on the rail. It will be appreciated from the foregoing thatnumerous forms of engaging means are envisaged within the scope of thepresent invention and that the important aspect of the present inventionis not so much the engaging means themselves but more the use of thehorizontal rail from which one or more hangers or accessories can besuspended thereby giving excellent flexibility to the system.

Conveniently each hanger is shaped so as to be spaced from the uprightsurface when this is engaged with the rail, the hanger having at oneleast spacer attached thereto to cooperate with said upright surface andmaintain the upright portion of the hanger generally parallel to saidupright surface. Conveniently, the or each spacer is releasably attachedto the hanger. It may be necessary to provide more than one spacer alongthe length of the hanger if the upright portion of the hanger isparticularly long. In a preferred embodiment, the spacer has a bodyportion attached to the hanger into which a foot is threadingly fittedwhereby its into distance with regard to the hanger upright can bevaried thereby enabling the upright to be kept generally parallel to thesupport surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelving/display system of theinvention which comprises an anchor rail, a hanger and a support arm,

FIGS. 2A-2K are views showing various alternative ways of attaching ahanger of the invention to its anchor rail,

FIG. 3-6 show various assembled configurations or uses of theshelving/display system of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a shelving/displaysystem of the invention comprising an anchor rail 1, which is preferablya metal extrusion but it could be formed of another material ifrequired. The rail can be of any suitable length (only part of a lengthis shown in FIG. 1) and includes a flat body section 2 whose upperregion is formed as a T-section with lips 3 and 6. Upstanding lip 3extending along the front edge of the rail to define a channel 4 betweenit and the surface (not shown) to which the anchor rail is mounted bymeans of screws 5, whereas lip 6 defines channel 7 which also extendsalong the whole length of the rail 1. The lower portion of the body part2 includes an L-shaped portion having an upstanding lip 8 extendingalong the length of the rail which defines a channel 9 between said lip8 and the body portion 2. A suitably shaped insert 10 can be fitted intothe channels 7,9 and retained therein by means of the lips 6, 8. Theinsert 10 can be a decorative panel e.g. of wood or a plastics materialto cover-up the screws 5. Alternatively, if the shelving/display systemis to be used to display clothes or other articles, then the prices orsize of the articles can be included on the front face 30 of the insert.

A hanging member 11 is suspended from the anchor rail 1 by engagementmeans, which in the illustrated embodiment, comprise plate 12 welded tothe top of the hanger 11. A lip 13 extends downwardly from the plate 12along its edge remote from apex 14. The hanger 11 has notches 15provided along its edge adjacent the anchor rail 1. A support arm 16with a slot 17 formed in one end thereof and a pin 18 extending acrosssaid slot is attached to the hanger 11 so as to extend outwardlytherefrom generally at 90° to the rail 1. It will be appreciated fromthe arrangement shown in the drawings that the pin 18 will engage in theslot 15 thereby retaining it in position relative to hanger 11.Depending on which slot 15 is used, the height of the support arm 16 inrelation to the rail 1 can be adjusted. A spacer 19 is fitted to the endof the hanger remote from the plate 12. This spacer includes a foot 20which is preferably screw fitted into the spacer 19 so as to beadjustable in relation thereto. The spacer can be fitted to the hanger11 at any location along its length either using a pin 31 as illustratedin FIG. 1 which engages with the slots 15 or by means of a frictionfitting or other suitable means.

When the shelving/display system is assembled as illustrated in FIG. 1the lip 13 on the front edge of the plate 12 at the top of the hanger 11engages over the lip 3 at the front edge of the anchor rail 1. Hangeredge 21 containing the slots 15 rests against the front face of the lip3 and also the lower lip 8 so said edge is spaced from the uprightsurface (not shown) to which the rail 1 is attached. The spacer 19provides stability for the hanger 11 by filling in the gap A (see FIGS.3 to 6) between hanger edge 21 and the wall or partition to which theanchor rail 1 is screwed. Another advantage of the spacer 19 is that anydownward load applied to the arm 16 is split between the lip 13 and thespacer 19 so the load is spread along the length of the hanger 11 andtransmitted to the upright surface through the spacer 19 and the lip 13on the engaging plate 12. Thus, not all of the load on the arm 16 istaken by the lip 13 so the risk of the anchor rail 1 being torn out ofthe wall is substantially reduced.

The arrangements shown in FIGS. 2A-2K require little explanation butillustrate alternative ways in which the hanger 11 can engage with therail 1, using lips 3, 6 and 13, flat body sections 2 and hanging members11 as shown and described variously herein.

FIGS. 3-6 show possible configurations of the shelving or display systemof the invention by way of example. Referring first to FIG. 3, it can beseen that the arrangement illustrated comprises an upper anchor rail 1attached to a vertical surface such as a wall 25. A support arm 16extends from hanger 11 and garments such as coats 32 are suspended fromthe arm 16.

FIG. 4 shows an arrangement similar to FIG. 3 except that a pair ofhangers 11 (only one is visible) are supported from the anchor rail 1with upper arms 16a used to support a shelf therebetween on which items33 can be displayed. In this arrangement, a second lower support arm 16bis attached to the hanger 11 so that garments 34 can be suspendedtherefrom.

The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5 shows upper hangers 11 supportedon an upper anchor rail 1 and lower hangers 11a supported on loweranchor rail 1a. In the illustrated arrangement the upper and lowersupport arms 16, 16a act simply as rails to display garments on hangers28.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 6 again uses an upper anchor rail 1 and alower anchor rail 1a but pairs of hangers 11a are used on the lower rail1a to provide a series of shelves 16a-16e on which merchandise can bedisplayed. In this illustrated arrangement, it will be noted that anadditional spacer 19b is provided between the ends of the lower hangers11a to provide additional support.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that theshelving/display system of the present invention provides an extremelyversatile system for erecting shelves or displaying garments ormerchandise particularly as the hangers 11 can be attached to the anchorrail 1 at any position along its length. This gives great versatility tothe system there are no vertical constraints on it. If hangers 11 areused in pairs then shelves can be assembled easily on them.Alternatively, the arms 16 can simply be used as hanging rails.

A substantial advantage of the present invention is that theshelving/display system is extremely simple to erect as all that isrequired is that the or each anchor rail of the selected length beattached to the wall, partition or other vertical surface in ahorizontal postion. This is a simple job and, if necessary, a spiritlevel can be built in to the rail 1 as an integral part thereof tofacilitate its mounting on the wall 25 in its correct orientation.Thereafter, any number of hangers and/or accessories can be suspendedfrom the rail at any required location along its length thereby givinggreat flexibility to the system as it has no vertical constraints on it.

What is claimed is:
 1. A merchandising system comprising: an anchor railfor attachment in a substantially horizontal disposition to asubstantially vertical upright surface, said rail being constructed andarranged to receive a releasable engagement means located on at leastone hanger so that the hanger is demountably attachable to the rail atany location along a length of the rail, wherein the hanger hangs freelyfrom the rail in contact with the upright surface at a predeterminedlocation thereon remote from the rail and the hanger being free ofpermanent attachment to the upright surface at the predeterminedlocation, and the hanger being supported only by the anchor rail, thehanger comprising an upright portion which extends substantiallyvertically with respect to the rail when the hanger is attached to therail and a support arm that extends outwardly from the upright surface.2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the releasable engagementmeans are located at one end 6f the upright portion of the hanger.
 3. Asystem as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the arm extendsoutwardly from the upright portion intermediate opposing ends of theupright portion substantially normal to the rail.
 4. A system as claimedin claims 1 or 2 wherein the arm and the upright portion of the hangereach include cooperating locating means constructed and arranged so thatthe arm can be positioned at different locations intermediate the endsof the upright portion.
 5. A system as claimed in claim 4 wherein thelocating means are operable to locate and retain the arm in positionrelative to the upright portion.
 6. A system as claimed in any one ofclaims 1 or 2 wherein the rail includes a lip along its length whichcooperates with the engaging means on the hanger to retain the hanger inthe rail.
 7. A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the lip projectsupwardly from the rail and the engaging means includes a hook portionwhich engages with said upstanding lip.
 8. A system as claimed in claim6 wherein the lip extends along the upper part of the rail, the lowerpart of said rail being shaped to receive an insert therein.
 9. A systemas claimed in claim 6 wherein the lip extends downwardly from the rail,the engaging means on the hanger including an upstanding part whichengages behind said lip to retain the hanger in the rail.
 10. A systemas claimed in claim 6 wherein the rail is channel shaped in crosssection and includes a pair of facing lips defining a slot therebetween,the engaging means on the hanger having a head which can be fitted intosaid slot to engage the rear face of each lip and retain the hanger inthe rail.
 11. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hanger isshaped so as to be spaced from the upright surface when it is engagedwith the rail, the hanger having at least one foot attached thereto tocooperate with said upright surface and maintain the upright portion ofthe hanger generally parallel to said upright surface.
 12. A system asclaimed in claim 11 wherein the foot is releasably attached to thehanger.
 13. A system as claimed in claim 12 where the foot includesmeans for adjusting a distance of the foot from the upright portion ofthe hanger so that a distance of the hanger from the upright surface canbe adjusted thereby.
 14. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein theupright portion includes a plurality of notches disposed along a lengththereof and wherein the support arm includes a pin for removablyengaging each of the plurality of notches to secure the support arm onthe upright portion relative to each of the plurality of notches.
 15. Asystem as claimed in claim 14 wherein the upright portion includes awidth in a direction taken toward and away from the wall surface and athickness taken in the direction parallel to the direction of extensionof the anchor rail and wherein the width is substantially larger thanthe thickness and wherein the notches are disposed along a rearthickness edge of the upright portion facing the wall surface.
 16. Asystem as claimed in claim 15 wherein the support arm includes a cutoutfor surrounding sides of the upright portion taken along the widththereof and wherein the pin is located adjacent the rear thickness edgeof the upright portion.
 17. A merchandising system comprising:an anchorrail constructed and arranged for attachment so that it extendssubstantially horizontally along a wall surface; a hanger including anupright portion having a mounting bracket constructed and arranged to bereleasably engaged by the anchor rail wherein the mounting bracket canbe attached to, detached from and moved substantially horizontally alongthe anchor rail to be located at any position therealong, the uprightportion extending downwardly from the anchor rail substantiallyperpendicularly to a direction of extension of the anchor rail; asupport extending from the upright portion of the hanger toward the wallsurface located at a point along the upright portion remote from theanchor rail, the support engaging the wall surface free of any permanentattachment therebetween so that the hanger is freely movablesubstantially horizontally relative to the anchor rail and the hangerbeing free of engagement with a floor surface and being supported remotefrom the floor only by the anchor rail; and the hanger furthercomprising a support arm extending outwardly away from the wall surfacein a direction substantially transverse to a direction of extension ofthe upright portion, the support arm being locatable at a plurality ofvertical locations along the upright portion.
 18. A system as claimed inclaim 17 wherein the support includes an enlarged base for engaging thewall surface.
 19. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the anchorrail includes a horizontal channel and wherein the hanger includes a lipfor engaging the channel so that the hanger is movable horizontallyalong the channel to any location thereon.
 20. A system as claimed inclaim 17 wherein the upright portion includes a plurality of notchesdisposed along a length thereof and wherein the support arm includes apin for removably engaging each of the plurality of notches to securethe support arm on the upright portion relative to each of the pluralityof notches.
 21. A system as claimed in claim 17 further comprising asecond support, located on the upright portion, at a position remotefrom each of the support and the anchor rail for engaging the wallsurface, the support being free of permanent attachment to the wallsurface.